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Diet ? for colostomy/ostomy in general

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Posted 6/6/2015 1:42 PM (GMT 0)
So, my doc originally put me on a low fiber diet, whole bunch of restrictions. Had a colostomy about 4 months ago and have issues w/ constipation. Last time I saw the nurse (who is VERY smart and just wonderful), she said I was basically ready to start experimenting with different foods--slowly of course. Talked about some restrictions like peels on fruit, raw veggies, popcorn.

Just wondering are there other things I need to avoid for life? What about nuts? Other foods? is that mostly for ileostomies or colostomies too?

I know I can ask the nurse or surgeon about it, but was just wondering what your diets look like…


Thanks in advance for sharing….


Sunny.
Posted 6/6/2015 3:33 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Sunny!
I eat pretty much everything...peels, popcorn, raw carrots, corn on the cob, nuts...everything! I was very cautious at first and introduced things little by little. The only thing I'm still careful about is mushrooms. If I order them in an omelet I make sure I chew very carefully. When I eat celery, I dice it very small. And when I eat a grapefruit, I avoid the membrane between segments.
My surgeon told me that I could swallow a marble without any issues, but I still haven't tried that yet. Lol

Of course, we're all different so try something, chew, chew, chew and drink a lot of water with it.

I'm hoping you're feeling better. Wishing you the very best!!
Posted 6/7/2015 12:58 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks CarenZ, appreciate you sharing that with me. Sounds like you eat all sorts of foods that i thought were "forbidden" for life. Like you said, everyone is different, but it makes me feel better.

I have noticed that so far, vegetables do not get absorbed/digested at all. They come out looking basically the same as when they went in. Is that bad?


Also wondering about gummy sort of candy…every so often, i have a massive craving for swedish fish or licorice, but now I worry that if I eat more than a bite or two, it will somehow stick together inside of me and could cause some trouble getting thru the intestines. Am I just being paranoid? I mean, the intestines are basically the same as before only less of them, right?


Would really appreciate it if more ostomates would share diet advice or what their diet is like.

Thanks again in advance.


Sunny.
Posted 6/7/2015 6:17 PM (GMT 0)
I'm very cautious with eating, probably more than I should be but I'm trying to be more adventurous! I'm 6 months post-op, and had a lot of issues with food when I was sick, so I think it stems a bit from that.

I find that a lot of fruit & vegetables do come out the way they went in! The first veg I ate were carrots, and I had lumps of them coming out, when I asked my nurse she said that's completely normal, and it would be the same with people who have their colon, it's just so compacted into stool that you wouldn't notice it. I've eaten mainly soft, root veg like carrots, parsnips, butternut squash, sweet potato, all with no problems. I've had small bits of broccoli & spinach which were fine too. I think if everything is chewed very well, and is cooked then it should be fine.

I had one blockage about a month ago, which I'm almost certain was caused by an unripe pear. I had it peeled but it was very hard, I didn't even finish it because it wasn't nice to eat but my stoma did not like at all. I've eaten many pears before & after though, with no issues, once they're soft. I do peel them, & apples too though.
I eat bananas fine also, but they come out in lumps too!

I've had no problems eating gummy sweets whatsoever - and I have eaten a lot of times!! The only thing I notice is they can sometimes change the colour of my output, if they're rainbow coloured sweets (skittles or the like)!

The only things I was told to be try avoid forever are whole nuts, sweetcorn, popcorn & mushrooms - but as Caren has shown, some people can obviously eat them with no problems!
I would recommend when you're trying something to have just a small amount, start slowly. Say have a half a peeled apple, if it goes ok then eat a full peeled one. Then only half peel it... And go from there!
And as everyone says, chew chew chew! :)
Posted 6/8/2015 12:10 PM (GMT 0)
yup, I pretty much eat everything too- all those "forbidden" foods! Mushrooms are a huge part of my diet- I just chew them well, & haven't noticed any chunks in the output. I eat salads 3-4x a week for lunch, no problems- and yes, sometimes things are recognizable in the output! I'm not a huge sweets fan, but do eat candies, gummy ones, from time to time. I always figure as long as I chew everything really well, I'll be ok. the one blockage I did have was from a fish sandwich & fries- it was a BGg sandwich, which I think was mainly the issue. Plus, I was starving, & sort of wolfed it down. The blockage did clear on it's own. I always think "Trust the stoma!" & it's served me well. I wouldn't monitor food too much- certainly, some things are more apt to produce watery or thicker output, but aside from that, I pay little attention to what I eat. I do tend to prefer cooked veggies, asides from salad- I think a whole plate of raw veggies may be tough, simply becasue you'd have to chew so long it wouldn't be worth it to me!
Posted 6/8/2015 1:00 PM (GMT 0)
thank you so much for all the input. it will help me not worry about my output.
Posted 6/8/2015 1:06 PM (GMT 0)

Sunny13 said...
Also wondering about gummy sort of candy…every so often, i have a massive craving for swedish fish or licorice, but now I worry that if I eat more than a bite or two, it will somehow stick together inside of me and could cause some trouble getting thru the intestines. Am I just being paranoid? I mean, the intestines are basically the same as before only less of them, right?

It won't happen. I like my sweets and have gone through phases of eating a bag of sweets a day. For some people that amount of sugar would probably give them loose output, but it didn't seem to have even that effect on me. Even the stickiest sweets will be dissolved into their constituent components once inside the stomach.

In fact with a colostomy I don't see why there should be any forbidden foods at all. Your stoma is made from the colon, and thus bigger than an ileostomy: there should be more room for food to pass through. I personally eat apples with peel, popcorn, salad, etc. Mushrooms I still tend to avoid (they're so rubbery and don't easily break down). I should add that while I don't gulp things down, I also don't like chewing the same food 100 times over, so I don't. Basically I probably don't really chew any more than I did before.
Posted 6/8/2015 3:55 PM (GMT 0)
It is my understanding that there are very few, if any, diet restrictions for folks with a colostomy. Though, I'm sure that it is still best to slowly reintroduce foods when you start expanding your diet post surgery. I'd think you are far enough out from surgery to start the process of trying new things.

As you know, I have an ileostomy, but it may help ease your mind to know that I eat any and everything I want. Of course, I followed the low residue diet for about 6 weeks post surgery, and then started trying more "be careful" foods as time went on. I now eat a big salad at least 5 days a week, eat raw nuts and seeds most every day, I love popcorn, gummy candy, corn, mushrooms...pretty much you name it, I eat it, no problems! I do still take some precautions eventhough I don't really know if I need to. In my salads I use seedless cucumbers and peel most of the skin off of the cucs, squash, zuchhini, apples, etc... I'm not as careful about peeling skins if I'm cooking the veggies though. I do my best to chew very well also. A lot of people say to drink plenty of water while you eat, but I was advised to do the opposite. My WOCN said that if I don't drink while eating, as well as 20-30 minutes before/after a meal, the food will move through me a bit more slowly making it possible to absorb more nutrients. But, many folks drink with food to ensure things don't get stuck. Like so much of this, you'll eventually figure out what works best for you.
Posted 6/18/2015 3:11 PM (GMT 0)
I'm 5 years PO, I don't avoid anything because I'm afraid of it blocking or affecting my ostomy. I don't eat Crohn's trigger foods, since the colostomy wasn't a cure, but I eat veggies, popcorn is my favorite thing ever, seeds, nuts...anything.
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